|
|
DISASTER
& SOCIAL CRISIS RESEARCH NETWORK - NEWSLETTER 4 |
Power Shortages and DU Debris (Yugoslav complex disaster
diary)
The late autumn and early winter 2000 in Yugoslavia is marked by extreme power
shortages that have further deteriorated the already adverse life conditions of
the entire population, and especially of its most vulnerable young, old and
sick affiliates. The lack of electricity is the result of several mutually
reinforcing factors. Even the most "natural" of them, the
catastrophic drought of this last spring and summer, could be traced back to contribution
of human activity to global warming Other factors more obviously originate from
human actions, like the partial destruction of the power infrastructure during
the 1999 NATO bombing "enriched" with depleted uranium (DU) and the
decade-long EU and USA economic blockade of Yugoslavia that made the
maintenance of the remaining power facilities more difficult or impossible.
Having in mind that there were no blackouts during the 23rd of December
election day, the power cuts should probably also be interpreted as the way to
persuade the population in the necessity of the elimination of subsidised
electricity prices and privatisation of the strategic branch of the national
economy. These measures were demanded by prospective creditors in NATO member
states and endorsed by the winning coalition.
Long local electricity blackouts do not prevent the new evidence on the
disastrous effects of NATO's use of DU weapons to come to light increasingly
these days in neighboring countries. Probable reason for this is the fact that
the ruinous DU effects have manifested themselves not only among the bombed
population, but also among the soldiers belonging to the bombing army.
The massive use of this residue from the nuclear power industry as weapons
began during the 1991 Gulf War with the declared aim to better pierce armoured
vehicles and concrete bunkers. More and more firm proof is discovered that
radioactive particles are released into the ground, the water supply and the
air in quantities more than 1000 times higher than the maximum contamination
level considered safe for health. If ingested, these particles cause radiation
sickness at the least.
"Gulf War Syndrome" and different forms of impaired immunity
reappeared among NATO soldiers after use of DU weapons in Bosnia-Herzegovina in
1995 and in Yugoslavia including Kosovo and Metohija in 1999. The Italian
Defence Ministry has admitted two deaths among Italian soldiers stationed in
the Balkans in DU areas, according to Timothy Bancroft-Hinchey. The Italian media
claim, however, that there were four deaths, while there are 12 more cases of
leukaemia or tumours among Italian soldiers stationed in areas where DU was
used.
For the time being NATO spokespersons keep on denying that there is any danger
to soldiers or civilians living within the areas where DU was used. The
suspicion in the trust-worthiness of these denials is aroused by two facts:
NATO soldiers in Kosovo and Metohija were told to take special care and wear
protective clothing and there are plans for their pulling out from the areas
where DU was used. (http://english.pravda.ru/main/2000/12/22/1607.html).
Ever more documents are being published as well on the civilian victims of the
use of DU weapons. Like in Iraq and Bosnia and Herzegovina, the incidence of
cancer and leukaemia, congenital malformation and still-born babies has risen
meteorically in Yugoslavia as well. J. Zaccary in an article published in
"La Stampa" on 21 December 2000, reveals the fact that in Pancevo, a
city near Belgrade with high concentration of petrochemical industry that was
bombed by DU munition, the number of those ill with cancer and leukaemia rose
from 2000 registered before the bombing, to 10,000 in the year after it (http://www.lastampa.it/LST/ULTIMA/LST/NAZIONALE/CRONACHE/ZACCARIA.HTM).
Beside Pancevo, Novi Sad and Pristina were also bombarded with DU munition more
than 130 times per day during more than 60 days in continuity. Deadly uranium
particles are disseminated through wind and water far outside the Yugoslav
borders. The use of DU munition clearly violated international rules on the use
of weaponry, since its calamitous effects go beyond the battlefield, last after
the conflict, cause prolonged suffering of civilians and durably damage the
environment
Vera Vratusa(-Zunjic)
vratusa@dekart.f.bg.ac.yu
{Editor's
Note: The warning regarding the impact of DU on human health was first made by
the New York- based International Action Center of former U.S. Attorney General
Ramsey Clark (iacenter@iacenter.org) and was also widely diffused by the
Network for Peace in the Balkans (r.jiggins@bradford.ac.uk)--NPetropoulos.}